Anna Daniels
As the coronavirus continues to claim lives and infect people in multiple countries across the world, the virus is also having an impact on the entertainment industry.
A new report says that Hasbro’s supply chain has been interrupted because of the coronavirus, leading at least one expert to predict that Baby Yoda toy deliveries to the United States might be delayed. But there have been more concrete repercussions than that. While Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan will still arrive in U.S. theaters on schedule, the studio has now officially delayed its release in select international markets. And this likely won’t be the last we hear about the coronavirus impacting Hollywood.
Earlier today, the James Bond film No Time to Die was delayed seven months due to the coronavirus. That came after the international delay of films like Onward and The Invisible Man, and Paramount shutting down production of Mission: Impossible 7 in Venice, Italy.
But evidently the coronavirus hasn’t been online lately, because if it had, it would know that it definitely does not want to contend with a horde of angry Star Wars fans. And according to Jim Silver, the CEO of Toys, Tots, Pets & More (via CNN), that confrontation might be brewing. Silver said he spoke with sources inside the Chinese factories that Hasbro works with, and that “if things aren’t normal by the time June and July roll around, there will be shortages on a litany of toys” – including Baby Yoda. If that happens, it would come in the wake of Disney’s decision to not mass-produce merchandise early enough where it would reveal The Mandalorian character’s existence before the show debuted on Disney+ last year. Still, Silver says Hasbro is currently “close to being able to ship what they originally projected,” so perhaps the coronavirus won’t have to face the wrath of the online hordes after all.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that “A Disney spokesperson confirmed that the release date for Mulan in the U.S. remains unchanged, but the film will debut in certain foreign markets at a later date.” It’s unclear which specific markets will be affected and which dates the studio is thinking about shifting to. Mulan, which hews closer to the famous Chinese folk song than the ’90s animated movie, was made with a special eye toward authenticity, which the studio hoped would translate into big bucks – especially from Chinese audiences. But Deadline says China has closed 70,000 theaters already this year and basically shut down its exhibition structure, leaving the country’s theater industry likely to lose $2 billion this year. It’s unclear when the virus will be under control enough that the country will lift its restrictions on gathering in public places, and countries like Italy, Japan, France South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore have all been taking action to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The end result looks like a loss of at least $5 billion globally for theaters. We’ll update this post when the coronavirus inevitably impacts more productions.
Stay safe out there, folks. And before you freak out too much, watch this Last Week Tonight video which cuts through all the bogus information out there about the virus and tells you what you need to know:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c09m5f7Gnic?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
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